Two business owners to set up new shops in Beekman Street Art District

Greenfield resident Ashley Gardner stocks skeins of wool and alpaca yarn in the 55 Beekman St. space that will house her new business, Common Thread Saratoga. A few doors down from Gardner, another business owner, Francelise Dawkins, plans to open an art gallery called Feneex Boutique, which she hopes will be a gathering place for like-minded fiber collage artists and shoppers. (ED BURKE/The Saratogian)

Ashley Gardner plans to renovate the exterior of her store at 55 Beekman St. (ED BURKE/The Saratogian)

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Longtime small business owners say their ability to thrive off the beaten path depends on a positive outlook and a sense of collectivity with their neighbors.

It's also important to offer services or products that fulfill a niche market, they say.

Owners of two new businesses in the midst of setting up shop near each other on Beekman Street seem to be starting out with this in mind.

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Greenfield resident Ashley Gardner plans to open Common Thread Saratoga, a knitting store, at the end of the month. She's renting a large space at 55 Beekman St. that is currently filled with hundreds of yarns of different colors in addition to spinning and felting supplies.

Gardner, 32, recently spent $130,000 to take over the business from Cindy Spence, who ran it as Saratoga Needle Arts on Broadway for six years.

Her belief is that yarn stores are a destination, so the shop's move from downtown to Beekman Street doesn't necessarily mean a loss of customers, she said.

"If you are a knitter, you look for a local yarn store," Gardner said.

She plans to work with the City Center to market the shop to convention attendees.

Gardner will also continue regular knitting and crochet classes taught by former Saratoga Needle Arts teachers in the new space.

In addition to her investment in the business itself, Gardner is looking to buy the building at 55 Beekman St. and upgrade its neglected exterior, putting it in line with the colorful character of the art galleries and restaurants nearby.

A native Saratogian, Gardner said she's seen the art district go through major changes in the last 10 years as buildings have been renovated and the area has become known as the go-to place for art in the city.

"I think it's fantastic somebody noticed that this street could be a good place for artists," she said.

A former Elan employee with expertise in urban planning and design, Gardner said she hopes to work with the Beekman Street Association of business owners to continue beautifying buildings' exteriors and landscaping on the street.

"Once I'm open, and with summer coming, it will be a good time to participate in what they're doing," she said. "I'd like to bring something new to the mix."

A few doors down at 30 Beekman St., Francelise Dawkins has a similar idea. She intends her new art gallery and workshop space, Feneex Boutique, to be a gathering place for like-minded fiber collage artists and shoppers. The space was recently vacated by Jeromy McFarren, who ran a start-up artist consignment gallery there for several months.

"I grew up in art," said Dawkins, a native of Paris who has established herself as a successful fiber collage artist in the area over the last 20 years. In January 2008, Dawkins lost much of her equipment and work to a fire that destroyed an apartment building at 153 Grand Ave., leaving her and nine other tenants temporarily homeless.

"I'm using what happened to springboard," Dawkins said recently. "At first it felt like a tragedy, but everybody in the artists' community and Beekman merchants joined forces for an art auction."

The money raised aided all the tenants, and for Dawkins, it has helped her to re-emerge from the ashes of her loss and open the new shop, just down the street from her former apartment.

"Opening Feneex is my way to say thank you for the auction, the kindness and support ... I have come out stronger as an artist," she said.

The aim for collective growth of the area is apparent, even as a few empty storefronts await tenants on Beekman.

"The street is growing every day," said Rena Zeppetelli, who serves as secretary for the Beekman Street Association. "We all support each other, the residents and the businesses."

Zeppetelli opened Rena's Fine Flowers on the corner of Beekman and Ash streets about 2-1/2 years ago. She cites the ease and proximity of customer parking and her large retail space as major benefits compared to owning a shop on Broadway.

Keeping a small business alive is about forming relationships with customers, she says.

"I love being off the beaten path," she added. "You can do all the advertising in the world, but it's about talking with new customers and getting your name out there. Some people are better at that than others."